A DOG walker has told of his brush with death after a bungalow exploded in a massive gas blast which injured six people.

A DOG walker has told of his brush with death after a bungalow exploded in a massive gas blast which injured six people.

John Fell was strolling in Marian Court, Teams, Gateshead, when the house was obliterated right before his eyes.

He was showered in debris, including roof tiles and wood, and was lucky to escape without serious injuries.

Six people – an elderly man who lived in the house, three police officers, a paramedic and a gas company worker – are in a serious condition in hospital after the explosion.

Officers were called to the normally quiet street at 5.29pm yesterday after reports of a smell of gas.

Police entered the bungalow along with an engineer and paramedic who assessed an elderly man inside.

Seconds later, a fireball ripped through the small house, leaving the resident badly injured.

All six were taken to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary where their conditions were described as serious but not life-threatening, although one officer is believed to have suffered significant burns to his face.

Mr Fell, 24, who is registered disabled, said: “I was walking the dog and just heard a massive bang and dived for cover.

“There were tiles and wood and all sorts coming down everywhere.

“It’s hard to believe people have survived this. The house is a mess. It’s unbelievable.

“I was shocked but I’m pleased that it seems nobody has lost their life.

“It was frightening because it just seemed to come from nowhere.”

Neighbouring homes were evacuated while fire crews launched an investigation into the cause of the explosion.

It is believed the man may have been attempting to fit or remove a gas cooker without properly turning off the supply.

There was no fault with the local supply leading up to the explosion, Northern Gas Networks said.

The firm added: “We can confirm that the explosion was not the result of any issue with the local gas network.

“We will continue to work with the police as they carry out an investigation.”

Neighbours detected a smell and called the firm who subsequently scrambled police and ambulance staff.

Little remained today of the bungalow’s brick walls and roof, whose tiles were found up to 60ft away.

Neighbours in the street were evacuated as a precaution. Kevin Briggs, 68, said: “I was sitting in my house and I heard this big bang.

“I looked out and came outside straight away. The house had come down. It had totally collapsed.

“I could see one police officer in uniform, a man, he was kneeling on the ground near to the house.

“I couldn’t tell how badly hurt he was. Then we were sent away to the top of the street but I heard that three police officers were injured.”

Epileptic Mark Richardson, 32, who lives two doors down from the blast house, had to ask a fireman to retrieve his tablets. “I was really worried because I have to take my medication at regular times,” he said.

“I came home to a scene of chaos and I was really scared. It’s not something you expect.

“I just hope that all the people involved are all right.”

Superintendent Dave Byrne of Northumbria Police said: “The house has been completely destroyed. It has been a sizeable force that has caused the damage.”

Officers were met with a strong smell of gas when they arrived, he said, after concerns were raised for the safety of the man in the house.

He said he could not be sure exactly where the officers were when the explosion happened.

He said the officers were trained to deal with hazardous situations and members of the public should call the emergency services in similar circumstances.

The injured paramedic was a member of the hazardous area response team who was trained to deal with non-standard 999 calls.

“It’s never nice when one of our own is injured and we are obviously thinking about him,” the ambulance spokesman said.

“Quite clearly, his quick actions in evacuating people from the property, and the fact he was wearing protective equipment, which allowed him to shield this man from the full force of the blast, have helped lessen the injuries that could have occurred.”

A Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said that fires had to be extinguished at the property.

He said: “We were called to the scene at 5.45pm, originally to reports of a smell of gas at a property.

“On arrival there was an explosion and five casualties were taken from the building.

“Five fire crews attended the incident and the gas company disconnected the supply to the street. There were a number of fires which had to extinguished at the property after the explosion.”

North East Ambulance Service confirmed that six people were taken to hospital after the explosion.

A spokesman said: “Our Hazardous Area Response Team were called to the scene due to the nature of the incident.

“On arrival, one of our paramedics led an elderly gentleman out of the property.”

The Health and Safety Executive have now been informed and will take the lead in the investigation.

Send a story

Advertising Department

Print

The Chronicle is read by more adults than any other regional newspaper on sale in the area. With 170,115 average issue readers, this reach extends to 366,753 weekly readers – that’s over 1/4 of adults in the area!

The average time spent reading the Chronicle is 31 minutes; which shows the length of time that readers are engaging with the editorial and advertising content.

49,199* copies of the Chronicle are sold on average each day as it continues to be an integral part of the region.

*ABC Newcastle Chronicle 100% paid, Mon - Sat, JICREG, 1/10/2012

Online

Unique Users: 1.6m

Page Views: 10m

Audience figures from Omniture, monthly average (Jan - Jun 2014).

More than 1 in 3 ChronicleLive users have clicked through to an online advertisement, demonstrating that our users are responsive and receptive to Internet advertising messages.

ChronicleLive reaches an internet-savvy audience, with 84% of users having purchased products or services online in the past 12 months.

Download our rate cards for all the prices of our print and digital products.